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Going green not only helps the environment, but it invests in communities and the environment.  Many guests are looking for places to stay that offer more green trends.  

There are of course numerous ways a hotel property can go green. Depending on need and budget, one can choose from a range of options and technologies. There are tons of technologies right now designed for hotels to save energy.But, since energy-efficient equipment may be costlier both in terms of installation and capital costs; the hospitality industry is acknowledging the long term benefits to be reaped in terms of reduced maintenance and energy saving, especially when energy costs are escalating. With technology constantly improving and becoming cost effective, initiatives that seemed too expensive just a short while earlier are now within reach of most hotels. Going green using techonologies can be easy for big hotels , but for smaller scale hotels, the installation and maintence costs too much. But we believe that with the fast development of technology , go green will be acceptable for every hotel.

I found this pdf file, titled 'The Tourism and Hospitality Industry Goes Green' online from the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania - Department of Environmental Protection. It mentions why going green is good, and mentions areas such as cost savings, health, liability, environment, as well as public image. Further, it talks about what tourism and hospitality related companies can do to go green where it gives examples for employees in the (back) office, what one can do in restaurants/lounges/dining areas, as well as in the guest rooms. The pdf file also mentioned, which was new to me, that the American Hotel and Motel Association publishes material for the logging industry - which can also be accessed online - on what one can do to go green.

This article expounds how Google is contributing to the future green advancements of the world by implementing them in their every day operations. Although developing next-generation consumer electronics is an extremely lucrative sector of technology, Google has shifted their thinking away from the immediate consumer electronics field, moving towards the development of green technology. The article further mentions Google's wide-range of environmentally-friendly initiatives which includes the development of an application plug-in that would help automobiles determine where the driver is going that in turn reduces energy use, incorporates renewable energy, and offsets carbon emissions. Also, despite the large amount of Google data centers, Google has managed to cut their energy use in half through practical thinking that included purchasing a wind farm in Iowa with plans of running entirely on renewable energy in the near future. The company also made it a point to cut down on greenhouse gases by having goats roam their Google campus to eliminate the need for fertilizer and lawn movers. In conclusion, by adopting unconventional techniques for effectively lowering its environmental impact, the company has become a model example for more companies to think outside of the box and focus on implementing green technology in an efficient and innovative manner.

This short article briefly discusses some of the ways in which hotels are taking more initiatives to be eco friendly and practice sustainability. This article also lists a number of statistics to support its claims. For example, according to the article, "150-room hotel can conserve 72,000 gallons of water and 480 gallons of laundry soap every year by placing the cards in its guest rooms". The cards that the article is referring to are the little "to save the planet" cards you may see when you check into a hotel in your bathroom, usually near your towels. In fact, the "green cards" are so important to hotels that some companies actually provide them for you so you don't have to make them yourself (for a small fee of course) such as the Green Hotels Association that the article discusses. One of my favorite parts of the article is the "10 Million Trees" initiative taken on by the Four Seasons. According to the article, "The hotel chain is celebrating its 50th anniversary by planting 10 million trees across the 34 countries in which it operates with the hope that the effort will help combat deforestation and global warming and attract more customers concerned about the state of the planet". This concept is truly amazing to me and it definitely should be an aid to help others in learning why "going green" is such a major deal and how seriously it effects not only our futures, but our everyday lives. The article wraps up talking about eco lodges in partnership with natives and why that is important when travelers are passing by.

Hotels are going beyond just encouraging guests to reuse linens and towels. The WTTC and Green Hotel Association are making an effort to implement green initiatives in the industry.

The "Going Green" trend has been a true blessing since it's marketability took birth several years ago. Many industries are taking advantage of this technological and ecological trend. There has never been a better time than now to turn our business ethics into the direction of a better world. Basic utility expenses at any hotel or business can sometimes make or break their existence. Technology today has given us the tools to give back to both our beautiful Earth and our bottom dollar. Luxury brands and all the like are implementing new green policies and technologies that will cut costs and even beautiful their environments. By the end of 2015 The Intercontinental Hotels Group plans on equipping over 4,000 of their hotels with a system that monitors and assists in energy use and conservation. They have a goal of reducing their overall water use by 12% in California in part due to the severe ongoing drought. The Loews in Santa Monica Beach is investing $96,000 in a laundry-water recycling system. It will recycle nearly 70% of water use and pay for itself in less than 2 years. Apart from it's ability to cut-costs and truly give back to the environment, "going green" is highly marketable. One of the Intercontinental's General Managers was quoted saying "It's not a huge savings. I think it's about sending the right message." I have personally seen many RFPs from large corporate companies that request green-initiatives from hotels. Improving sustainability is important to the customer and the establishment. Around 60% of travelers consider green initiatives when selecting a destination and activity. Of those 60%, over half said they would even pay more to stay at an establishment that respected and helped improve the environment. In a world where we are fortunate enough to live in excess should we choose to, it's a shame it took this long for a global movement to "go green". Sustainability alone has built such a giant indu

This article highlight what different hotel chains are doing in order to "go green" It looks at different sections of the hotel and explains what the hotel chosen is doing to go green in the different areas. The first are is the Guest Room. The article explains the the Kimton Hotels have recycling bins for bottles, cans and paper and this increase there recycling rate to 75% over 3 years. The second area the article touches on is the Kitchen. It explains how the Fairmont Hotels and Resorts are encouraging their kitchens all over the world to use organic foods. The third area the article explains in the Bathroom. Apparently, the Aloft group has installed refillable shampoo and body wash dispenser at its locations and plan to do it for the future locations they are opening. As it relates to the outdoors, Asia's Six Senses is protecting the seascapes with chlorine fee pool sanitation system in order to protect the coral and marine life. The article also explained that the RockResorts have changed chemical cleaners to cleaners that were more natural. The article also states that changes are being made in shops and boutiques. The Swedish Scandic hotels stopped selling bottle water at 147 of their hotels and Banyan Tree resorts has partnered with local vendors to sell in their boutiques. I feel that all of these hotels and resorts are going in the right direction in order to save the environment in which they operate.

More and more restaurants are following the "green move" to make sure they are staying in the loop of an eco-friendly customer.

Nice article Diana. I also chose an article on restaurants going green. Customers really do like the idea of eating at a certified green restaurant because they care about the environment and want to help it stay healthy. There are some easy and quick fixes that restaurants can do to become green from using recycled paper products to making sure the turn any lights on when they are not needed to making sure there are no gaps in doors leading to and from coolers which would let the air leak out. I am glad that more restaurants are becoming green and from reading these articles since I work in a restaurant it makes me want to go to my bosses and see what we can do to help the environment in our restaurant.

Diana I agree with your statistic. From a business point of view it makes more sense to try to attract the customers who are eco-friendly, because people who are not necessarily concerned about the environment are not gonna turn down a restaurant because it is eco-friendy, but on the other hand a green person will turn down a restaurant if it does not meet environmental standards.

The nation's largest Army Reserve training post is "going green" . A new

The Hotel Show has put it focus into green initiatives and businesses that present the products to help businesses in the hospitality sector to "go green." The show brings in businesses and hosts seminars that help hospitality-based businesses make their "green" contribution by buying products and conducting practices that yield results like reducing energy output.

The hotel and hospitality industry has become aware of the green revolution. Hotel guests are now leaning towards hotels that are environmentally friendly. This has lead to hotels establishing environmental programs, growing their our fruits and vegetables for use in the hotel restaurant, non- daily towl and sheet cycling, etc. There has also been an increase in eco-tourism. If the hospitality industry wishes to capitalize on the green revolution they should follow the trend closely.

This article discusses the advantages of having a "green" hotel and how much it impacts the guest experience, in a positive way. From not using chemicals and growing food on site, they have capitalized on a new type of traveler and will find these guests to most likely refer business and be a repeat guest. These travelers know they are participating in "experiential learning" that benefit the environment and provide a more local experience. They are also generating revenue as guests are staying on site and enjoying the local fare, such as food grown on site.

Ted Turner, George McKerrow Jr, and Charlie Ayers led a panel discussing the local and national benefits of making eco-friendly changes at restaurants. While there is a strong push from customers to eat at sustainable restaurants, "the challenge is convincing them (the restaurants) that being green won't hurt profits." The easiest baby step that seems to have the most ROI is simply changing the lighting in the restaurant to energy-efficient light bulbs. At Ted's Montana Grill, this switch saved his company $80,000 in the first year. Other small changes to consider would be to move to plastic-free straws and biodegradable takeout containers. But those things cost money and may be out of reach for many restaurants. Some places are taking it a step further and incorporating sustainable materials into the restaurant design and decor. The last major suggestion from this panel is a large scale shift in fossil fuel subsidies. If those can be removed, green energy can become a more competitive field and thus offer restaurants another alternative and opportunity to become green.

This article contains the belief that the "green initiatives" of the hotels are more for saving the company money than saving our planet. The article continues to tell how some hotels give their customers rewards for not requiring housekeeping assistance. This leaves the question of whether this initiative is actually saving the company money or harming the employment of the housekeeping staff. I believe that going green is a proper step to take, especially looking at today's economy. Going green could improve our environment. However, this is not what I am seeing in today's companies. The companies are too reliant on profit. So, they use the green initiative as a way to actually cut costs, without actually going green. Companies should focus more on how the green initiative will affect the world as a whole in the future instead of completely focusing on profiting for now. Focusing on profit and covering it with the supposed green initiative will only drive up unemployment and create more problems with today's economy.

Conscientious travelers want to stay in conscientious hotels. The hotel industry has developed the "GreenLeaders Program" to recognize hotels and B&B's that engage in environmentally friendly practices. The top reasons why the hospitality industry is going green: (1) long-term monetary savings, (2) meeting the needs of eco-conscious travelers, and (3) conforming to new environmental regulations.

The article points to the fact that energy is a major issue for hotels, which can be solved by going green and by implementing 3 energy-saving factors. 1. Using low energy devices and replacing all incandescent bulbs with LED-based lightning. 2. Adopting renewable source of energy. 3. Using connected devices, which make it possible for managers to monitor the power consumption. So today going green it's the long-term option for companies who want to save their prosperity.

This article gives a general concept about the green way with technology in the hotels. Many hotels have used green ways in their daily business, such as the hotel in Danmark introduced in this article. Using the green technology can contrlo the cost of hotels and bring long-term benefits. Hotels in the US use a technology powered system for heating which starts up when a guest enters a room, and turns down when they leave. This green technology can save much energy and control the cost efficiently. With the green technology, hotels not only can control the operation cost, but also can reduce the maintenance fee. 'Green' is no longer just a fad for the hospitality sector. It plays a significant role for the development trend of hospitality in the future.

This article is interesting and in my opinion inspiring as well. According to the article "65% of Copenhagen's hotel rooms, representing nearly half the city's supply, have a globally recognized eco rating". IN the year of 2009, the United Nations climate change summit took place in this city, which started the rise of all the green hotels in Copenhagen. All of the hotels that participated in this summit had to be green certified which rose the percentage of green hotels by 30%. According to the Danish hotel, restaurant and tourism trade association there is also higher demand for green hotels by leisure and mainly business guests. Companies want to make sure that they take their employees to green certified hotels to show their support and awareness of sustainable behavior. The Crowne Plaza Copenhagen Towers hotel is truly represents a green hotel with first groundwater-based heating and cooling system and the largest solar panel coverage in northern Europe. The hotel also uses all kitchen waste and has it turned into organic fertilizer. Even smaller hotels in Denmark are turning towards being green and taking the matter seriously. "We practice this with energy-saving devices, sorting of (garbage), recycling of paper and organic foods. And we work with suppliers who share our beliefs," says owner of a small hotel Nicolas Hall. I enjoyed reading this article as it relates to the video we watched this week about who should take responsibility in waste management. I stated that the nation should take action in this matter but here we can clearly see that even companies can make a huge difference as they are the drivers of the economy and they can decide which product to choose.

This article includes standards and suggestions to operate green hotels. The 40 ways include electricity saving, water saving, recycling systems and other environmental friendly usage method. For example, it mentioned to use digital control to HVAC systems, key card to control lights in guest rooms, using CFL bulbs to save electricity. It mentioned as possible as you can to paperless or recycle paper. Use ozone laundry system to reduce cost, water energy and chemicals use. Give leftover food and amenities to charities. An interesting thing, it also mentioned plant a garden and harvest organically-grown vegetables for your restaurant, a best way to save cost and treat food debris. The highlight ways are what interesting in my mind.

This article provides clarified information about what the hotel should do to be green. This is a valuable guideline for hotel to be a greener hotel. Nowadays more and more hotels bring in new technology to save energy, I know this action can bring many benefits to hotel, but some not mature technology may bring trouble for hotel. I read a story talk about the solar powered energy management system. With this system's control the air conditioner will turn down automatically when there is no person in the room. But sometimes it can turn down the air conditioner when the guests fall asleep. How to deal with this kind of problem is also a big challenge for hospitality industry.

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This article briefly introduced some new ideas about transportation tools for green technologies developing in the tourism industry. Although discovering and implementing a new thought of recycling for environmental friendly is very difficult and expensive, the green activities are significant and need to be continual going on.

Going green is one thing to consider if a hotel wants to save money and conserve the environment. This article discusses 5 tech ways to make some green changes in your hotel. Some points were to change the lighting to energy saving lighting. Using sensor lighting saves you money and shows guests that you care to conserve. Laundry technology and asking guests to only give towels that are unwanted instead of changing towels everyday. A system monitoring the heat and cooling system can regulate temperatures reducing the cost of unnecessary use of the system.

This article is about ways for hotels to use green tech to be more responsible.

"The latest innovative technology solutions can work to increase energy efficiency, cut down on material waste and even increase profits for your hotel". I remember while working in San Antonio Texas as a hotel AGM, the hotel had an agreement with the city water company for us to send them each week the readings of how much water we had used up to that point from last week, and they would give us rebates if our consumption wouldn't fluctuate certain parameters. We were being environmentally friendly, saving money by not overpaying and receiving rebates for our eco-responsibility.